SUNY Poly Researchers Publish Two-Decade Review to Strengthen Sustainable Aviation Decision-Making
Published:
Friday, July 24, 2026 - 11:21
Researchers from SUNY Polytechnic Institute’s Sustainable Aerospace Energy Center (SAEC) have published a two-decade review examining how multicriteria decision-support methods can help the aviation industry evaluate emerging technologies.
Published in the Journal of Air Transportation, the Open Access study was authored by Dr. Felipe Henao, associate professor of management science; Dr. Robert Edgell, professor of technology management and principal investigator of SAEC; Dr. William Durgin, professor of engineering and co-principal investigator; and Dr. Carlos Díaz González of the Universidad Autónoma de Bucaramanga.
The researchers reviewed 115 studies published between 2005 and 2025 to understand how aviation decision makers compare options for reducing environmental impacts while maintaining economic, operational, and safety performance.
As the industry works toward emissions-reduction goals, choosing among sustainable aviation fuels, electric and hydrogen-powered aircraft, improved operations, and policy approaches has become increasingly complex. No single option performs best across every dimension. Multicriteria decision analysis and related methods help make these trade-offs visible by providing structured ways to compare alternatives across factors including cost, emissions, safety, infrastructure readiness, and implementation feasibility.
The team examined decision-support research across five areas: sustainable aviation fuels and energy systems; aircraft systems and propulsion; airline operations and efficiency; airport infrastructure and air traffic management; and policy, regulation, and governance.
The review found that most studies remain concentrated on engineering, infrastructure, and operational performance. Fewer incorporate certification, regulatory design, institutional coordination, and stakeholder participation—factors that often determine whether promising technologies can be implemented at scale.
To identify these patterns, the researchers developed a Sustainability Mechanisms–Impacts framework that maps studies according to their emphasis on technical versus institutional mechanisms and environmental versus economic outcomes. The findings call for more integrated decision approaches combining technical performance with economic, environmental, policy, and stakeholder considerations.
The publication reflects SAEC’s interdisciplinary mission, bringing together engineering, business, technology, and systems thinking to address aviation’s sustainability challenges. The research was supported by SAEC and the Center for Business and Applied Ethics at SUNY Poly.
